Student Minister Ishmael R. Muhammad is a son of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and serves as the National Assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
In the Nation of Islam, as it states in Point No. 12 of What The Muslims Believe: WE BELIEVE that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July 1930; the long-awaited “Messiah” of the Christians and the “Mahdi” of the Muslims.
Final Call National Correspondent Charlene Muhammad recently interviewed Student Minister Ishmael on the significance of July 4 for the N.O.I. and the Black man and woman, the longevity of the Nation of Islam and what is currently happening in America and the world. Below are edited excerpts from that interview.
Charlene Muhammad (FCN): July 4th marks the 95th anniversary of the Nation of Islam’s existence. What does this momentous occasion mean and represent?
Student Minister Ishmael R. Muhammad (IRM): First, 95 years ago, a Man came from the East, from the Holy City of Mecca, and introduced Himself to our people in July of 1930. And the 4th of July was chosen to represent, on the day that America—who enslaved Blacks—celebrates its independence.
Master Fard Muhammad declared our independence. And that the time had arrived that Black people, who served under the slave master and the slave master’s children, that it was the time now for us to separate, be delivered from our enemies, to be established on this earth as an independent nation.
Master Fard Muhammad did not make Himself known as the Son of Man that the Christians are looking for and the Great Mahdi that the Muslims are looking for. He was recognized as a prophet, Prophet W.D. Fard.
But it was the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in September of 1931, the 22nd of September, that He went to hear Master Fard Muhammad, Who was speaking in Detroit. And when He (the Honorable Elijah Muhammad) heard Him.
The scriptures that He had studied, while He was in the church, and His father was a Baptist preacher, came up in His mind, and He recognized that the man that he was listening to and looking at was the fulfillment of the biblical prophecies of the Son of Man coming from the East to the West.
When Master Fard Muhammad completed His talk to the audience, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad went up to Him, during the acceptance part of the program, and whispered in His ear, “I know who you are.
You are the Son of Man, in fulfillment of prophecy.” And Master Fard Muhammad looked at Him with a stern face, but then whispered into His ears, “Yes, I am He. But who else knows but you? We will talk about that at a later time.”
So from that point, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad accepted Islam, became a member of the Nation of Islam, joined the Ministry Class and was taken under the wing of Master Fard Muhammad as His special student, that He would make a Messenger to the modern Children of Israel, Black people.
So the fact that the Nation of Islam is still here nearly 100 years later, with all of the vehement opposition against the Nation of Islam, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, in all of the government’s efforts through its Counterintelligence Program (COINTEL-PRO) to destroy Black organizations.
The Nation of Islam is a miracle because it has survived against an enemy that has set out to destroy Black unity, Black love and Black organizations that would foster unity among our people. So it proves that the Nation of Islam, still standing in 2025, is backed by the power and is protected by none other than God, Himself.
That is the answer I would give to the significance of 95 years, because, for the Nation of Islam to endure all of these years and still be relevant and viable among Black people, proves that God has come. God is present, and God is the backer, the protector, the defender of the Nation of Islam.
FCN: Can you speak to the Nation of Islam’s (and) of course Minister Farrakhan’s, attracting power for young people, the youth that are drawn to the Nation?
IRM: Our young people are looking for guidance, answers to questions, (and) solutions to problems. They want a fresh, new perspective on things, on life, on the world in which we live, and in seeking that, they have found the answers to questions, solutions to problems and a powerful truth and knowledge that they are seeking.
They have founded in the Nation of Islam that which teaches the knowledge of self, the knowledge of God, the knowledge of the enemy, the knowledge of the time that we are living in, and the root of all things.
So young people are attracted to this bright light that shines from the Nation of Islam, which gives sight, guidance and direction for one’s life, and not only our young people, but older people as well.
Because the Nation of Islam is that primary source of knowledge, wisdom and understanding. And our young people are looking for something different, something new. And they want real answers.
They want hard truth, if you will. And they find that in the Nation of Islam, and they find a brotherhood of love. And that is what attracts our young people to the Nation of Islam.
FCN: We see a lot happening in the country, Brother Ishmael, and the world. What are your thoughts as we speak about independence?
IRM: We are living in the time that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught is the fall and the breakup of the world that belongs to Satan, the fall and the breakup and collapse of the Caucasian rule on our planet.
So, we are living in the time of change, the breakup of an old world, the fall of an old civilization, and the beginning of a new civilization on our planet. That’s the time that we have entered, the time of God’s Judgment of the world that is spoken of in both the Bible and Holy Qur’an.
The Call of God is for His people to come out of the world of Satan, the world of the enemy, and for us to no longer look to and depend on the enemy to do for us what we can and should do for ourselves.
We will never enjoy the essential principles of life—freedom, justice and equality—under this construct, under this system of things, under this government.
We have to now make the steps towards self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and independence. That will ensure Black people in America, a joyful, happy, promising future. We are not going to get it from White folks.
FCN: In addition to the ways that we see people routinely celebrating Independence Day with cookouts and fireworks, etc., what is a way that you can recommend—in addition to those ways that we celebrate this July 4th and the coming of Allah God in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad?
IRM: Well, we don’t join the citizens of America in their way of celebrating July 4th with the shooting of guns and drinking and partying.
We celebrate by beginning this very special day in our history with prayers of thanksgiving for the coming of God and reflecting on His intervention in our affairs, and having a talk with our family about God, His Love, His Mercy, His Grace, His Beneficence and His Merciful Intervention in our affairs and what He is offering us.
This is the way the righteous observe such special days in the calendar year. It’s always with prayer, reflection and thanksgiving. This is the way that we show our devotion for God and His Mercy.
FCN: Thank you.